Forgotten Soul
by E.M.Bryant97
Summary: Max knew that paying a visit to the Harper household was a bad idea, but he couldn't help but become intrigued by the eight year old girl in the backyard.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Revenge fanfic! I've absolutely been in love with Victoria since season one- I was disappointed she didn't have as many backstories as she deserved to have, so this random drabble popped into my head and I couldn't help but write it. I wanted to write something that I hadn't seen in any of the other Victoria fics on here, and I also am extremely intrigued with the thought of Victoria having a little moment with her dad** , **even if he ends up screwing up her life. But, for now, let's just pretend that didn't happen... Writing little Victoria is so entertaining! Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing.**

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For a useless month like April, the weather was unbearably hot. Even the wind provided little solace from the exposed east coast sun. It was late in the afternoon, and the day was already deadened to a lazy silence. Harsh footsteps against the cement pathway could be heard throughout the house, leading up to the uninvited opening of the front door.

She could hear the voices of both a man and her mother, typical greeting, typical conversations. It was a regular event at her house to have some man over. Lacing her fingers through the cool grass, Victoria leaned back and drew in a deep sigh, trying to decipher what kind of conversation her mom was having this time. After a few seconds of silence, the door to the patio opened with a start. Victoria whipped around to look behind her, a surprised look on her face. A man with sandy blonde hair and a charcoal gray business suit stood there awkwardly, glancing around the backyard like there was something interesting about a tree and some grass. She stared blankly at him, her pale face framed with long, dark hair that blew softly in the wind.

"Hi- uh, your mom's making supper right now, and she wants me out of the house. Somesort of... Surprise."

The girl remained expressionless, mostly because her mind was occupied as to why her mother would make a surprise dinner for just any guy. She had entered new territory.

"What's your name?" Victoria eventually spoke, figuring he wouldn't leave anytime soon.

Her simple question lead him to finally look her in the eyes. "Maxwell. And you are..." He began walking across the lawn, lowering himself until he was sitting right beside her. "Victoria," she said, carrying the name with a surprising amount of dignity for such a small and delicate girl. It seemed to throw the man off for a second or two before he spoke again.

"Your mother has told me a lot about you."

Her soft expression turned confused. "Like what?"

He sighed, tucking his legs up to his chest and staring at a fixed point along the fence. "Well, she told me that you get good grades. And about your art classes."

Glancing over in her direction, Max noticed how uneasy she seemed, staring off into the distance with a loneliness he couldn't quite describe.

"I stopped taking them," she finally replied, "my teacher wouldn't let me because Mom won't get me the supplies I need."

With a simple twist of her body, Victoria was soon laying on her stomach, her navy blue dress ending at the middle of her thighs. He continued to stare down at her in wonder, this melancholy ghost of a girl with brown eyes and a radiant completion.

"Oh," was all he could say. As quiet and unpredictable as she was, her calmness was something he found extremely enjoyable. The girl was nothing like how her mother claimed her to be.

"Do you like books?"

She had her eyes focused on the blades of grass she held in her hands, winding them through her nimble fingers and looping them together like an expert. When her continued silence squelched any chance at a reply, he gently nudged her shoulder and asked the question again.

"Books?" She repeated, staring up at him for a second before returning back to the blades of grass. "Yeah, I like books. Rodger Rabbit is my favorite."

They began their next round of silence, each one more peaceful than the last. Max wondered just how long they could go on like this. He studied her soft porcelain skin in contrast with her raven black curls, his glance completely unnoticed by the girl.

Victoria eventually put down the grass necklace and lifted her head up, her nose scrunching and her expression seemingly unpleasant.

"Do you smell that?" She asked, her round eyes connecting with his, "it smells like... Cinnamon. Or..." Her nose scrunched again. "Peppermint. Do you smell peppermint?"

There was a hint of a smile on his face. "Probably my pipe smoke. Is it bothering you?"

Her eyes shifted up towards the sky, as if she were debating her answer. "I like it," she announced, a grin spreading across her face. It was the first smile he'd seen on her since he had arrived- smiling looked good on her.

Then, Victoria did something even more unexpected. Sitting up, she narrowed her eyes and began studying him inch by inch, her demeanor making the man feel as though she were staring right into all of his secrets and flaws.

"What is it?"

Though she was young, this girl, this newfound friend of his, seemed to carry a knowledge and a light about her that he had never seen before. In hindsight, Victoria Harper seemed too perfect to be living the life she was living. It made her extremely dangerous.

"Are you my dad?"

The desperateness in her voice made Max suddenly feel empathy for the child- no father, a mother who selectively cared for her, and no other family to speak of.

If only he had decided to stay eight years ago. If he would have, maybe Victoria would have art supplies and more books to read. But her happiness, education, and worst of all, her mother, the insane woman that he had gotten caught up with one too many times... It was all too much to take on. Even then, as he looked down at the sweet girl with a pale complection and black hair, all he could think was, _you poor, unfortunate soul._

"No. No I'm not." He replied calmly, his reaction emotionless to the obvious display of disappointment she revealed. "And I should get going. It was nice talking to you."

The inside of his head was banging so loudly he was surprised he was able to reach the door without screaming and hitting something. How stupid was he to believe that any of this was a good idea?

Victoria followed quickly behind him, her bare feet echoing against the cement and her dress flowing against the breeze. Inside the house, her mother was wearing one of her nicest dresses, her hair pulled up into a tactical bun as she worked over a plastic mixing bowl, presumably remembering how to make chicken casserole again. She looked up in surprise as Max walked across the kitchen, his eyes focused on the front door only, her daughter chasing closely behind him with a distraught look on her face.

"Where are you going Max?" Victoria demanded, her once delicate voice becoming more and more agitated.

"Away," he said through clenched teeth, searching the room for his keys.

"What? Why?" Marian asked, looking absolutely furious as she blocked the front door and forced him to look her in the eye.

"It was a mistake coming here, that's why," he said, grabbing for the doorknob.

"You said this would be a chance to reevaluate things!"

"Well I changed my damn mind!" He shouted, the abruptness of his voice startling Victoria. "Now let me leave!"

With a harsh tug on the doorknob, Max pushed his way through and walked down the pathway back to his car, Marian following closely behind and sending desperate pleas. Victoria watched through the open door as they continued to fight with one another until Max started the car engine and sped away, leaving her mother alone on the side of the road, dust clouding around her favorite black dress. Tears quickly sprung into her eyes as her mother began the walk back inside, her fists clenched and anger radiating off of her skin.

"What did you say to him?!" Marian demanded, grabbing her arm tightly and leaning in dangerously close.

"We were just talking!" The girl defended, squirming against her grip, "let me go!"

"God, why do you always have to do this to me? Things were going great before you had to ruin everything!"

Her tears were now rolling down her cheeks as she resisted harder, desperate to get away from her. "Let me go! Let me go!" She continued to scream as Marian dragged her to her room, shoving her in and locking the door. Her fists soon pounded against the wood, practically shaking the entire house. Marian didn't mind, though. She learned to tune her out. After all, they would have to wake up and repeat the same scene over again the next day. Her daughter, as it seemed, was excellent at making sure that her happy ending was as nonexistent as her own.

Her sniffles died down after a few hours, though the cold residue of tears remained on her face. Her room was pitch black, the temperature falling by the minute. It was what she was used to- her mom removed the light bulbs after she kept them on for too long. She lay shivering in her bed, blankets wrapped tightly around her and her knees pulled up to her chest. Though she was exhausted, emotionally and physically, she kept the scent of the peppermint pipe smoke in the back of her mind. Nobody had ever taken the time to talk to her like he did. Max had treated her differently, and she was fascinated by it.

Maybe, in another life, she was meant to have the family she deserved to have. But she knew more than anyone that life could never be that easy.

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 **It feels so good to finally get this posted! Like I said, this is my first Revenge fic so feedback would be great!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I caved and wrote another chapter! I guess this means this is a multi chapter fic... I couldn't resist! This is the absolute worst time to be writing since the semester just barely started, but how could I say no to writing a young Victoria fic? Hang tight and enjoy the ride, these next few months will definitly be interesting! And to all those history nerds out there, don't kill me if everything isn't completely historically accurate in this chapter... I really tried to keep up with the time period (mid 60's) and I think I did okay but I'm only human.**

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The streets were just about empty. Everyone was still asleep- it was barely ten in the morning. Victoria liked walking back and forth alongside the shops that lined the narrow two lane road when things were quiet and peaceful. Not only was it a chance to get out of the house, but it was an opportunity to catch up on all the changes going on in the world. Although the quaint little town of Milbridge New Jersey hardly ever changed, the world around her was evolving on a daily basis. She remembered when her teachers made everyone in the class practice putting their hands over their heads and crouch under their desks, saying that Russia was planning on blowing the entire country to smithereens. And she believed it, too. Now, all anyone could talk about was the war over in Vietnam. It was the only topic circulating between the eight channels that existed on the tv in the soda shop. She usually watched the footage when she was bored, only to give her something to do. Witnessing soldiers exhaust everything they had for a seemingly lost cause always made her spirits low and heavy with sadness. Was the rest of the world just as hopeless?

As Victoria slipped through the wooden doors of the soda shop, she instantly glanced up at the black and white TV to see what was on. It was a clip she had already seen before, one of the generals was hastily giving updates on the troops.

"Hey kid, what's new with you?" A man with a white apron asked from behind the counter as she set her bag full of groceries next to one of the barstools before climbing up, sending him a broad smile.

"Nothing much. I finished shopping earlier than I thought I would... Mom makes the list smaller every now and then."

"Who would've thought," the man replied with a chuckle, beginning to scoop ice cream into a tall glass. "It gets lonely when you don't come in. How's school going?"

She shrugged, leaning forward on her elbows. "Okay I guess. Sometimes it's really boring."

Things got quiet between them for a moment; she watched him mix the ice cream in the glass.

"How can you watch the same stuff on the tv all day?" She asked, "it's depressing to watch people die all the time."

Her comment brought his attention back to the tv screen. "It is depressing isn't it. But what can we do? They're doing a brave thing going out there and fighting for our country."

It was hard to think something so violent was all for a good cause. "Guess so. Still sad."

Topping off the glass with whipped cream, he slid it across the counter and straight into her hands. "This should cheer you up. A classic vanilla float for the one and only Vicky Harper."

Handing him a dime, she gladly accepted the skinny metal spoon and took a scoop. "One of these days, she's gonna find out that I don't give her all the change," she said with a slight smile, before sticking the spoon in her mouth.

"You deserve it after all the stuff you do for her!" The man said, wiping the counters down with a white cloth. "I should have a talk with her one of these days."

"I wouldn't bother trying," she told him, poking the spoon around inside the glass. The topic of her mother never brought a good feeling. However, a thought entered her mind from out of the blue, and she couldn't help but put it into action.

"Hey Gus, can I ask you a question?"

A couple more people had drifted into the shop by that point, making it harder for her to keep his attention.

"Sure thing kid, ask away." He replied, starting on another float.

Victoria drew in a breath. "You knew my mom _before_ she was my mom, right?"

Gus nodded. "Sure did. Marian and I went to the same school down in Woodbury."

She took another bite. "Did... Did you know who my dad was?"

He gave her a surprised look. "Why the sudden interest in him?"

"I don't know, I just wonder who he is sometimes. My mom has men over all the time, and I ask every one of them if they're my dad and they all say no. I guess he really doesn't want to see me."

Walking over to her, he wiped his hands and set all his tools to the side, giving her his full attention.

"I remember your mom always having a boyfriend with her. She had so many of them. Any one of them could be your dad. He could be dead for all you know. Or worse," he pointed towards the tv screen, "your dad could be any one of those soldiers. You don't have any way of knowing."

Victoria sighed. "She would've told me if he were dead or halfway around the world. The other day though, something weird happened. One of her boyfriends came outside and talked to me. None of them ever talk to me unless they have to. He asked me questions about myself and sounded like he really wanted to know. And then, he randomly gets all paranoid and leaves. Mom tried to make him stay, but he wouldn't listen to a word she said. It looked like they knew each other pretty well from the past or something. His name was Maxwell. Do you know anyone named Maxwell?"

He gave her a look. "Thad a pretty common name, kid. I don't think I'm gonna be much help here."

She sent him a disappointed pout. "I know... I just have a good feeling about this guy. He was really nice."

"Maybe you should try asking your mom," he offered, "she might end up telling you something you want to hear. I don't want to see you get hurt, though. You're a good kid, Vicky. Whatever reasons your dad had for leaving, it doesn't change the fact that he left. You'd probably be better off not knowing who he is."

Cleaning off the bottom of her glass, she slid it to the side and reached down for her bag. "I gotta get going. Thanks for the ice cream."

Gus smiled towards her. "Anytime. You think about what I said, okay?"

She jumped off of the barstool and slung the bag over her back. "Okay. I'll keep you updated."

As she began the wall towards the door, she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for the lie she just told.

There was no stop to the plan she was about to put in motion.

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 **What do you guys think, will Victoria find Max again? I decided to make this fic an official AU, so some of the events may change things in the long run.**

 **-I'm starting my freshman year at college this Monday, so I can't say yet how often I'll be able to update. I'm still fairly new to the Revenge fandom, but Vicky G is literally one of my favorite human beings ever. My main fandom is Once Upon a Time- I've written a few fics there if anyone is interested. Regina Mills is so freakin amazing and I can honestly say her character (and Outlaw Queen) has completely ruined my life. I've noticed sooo many similarities between Regina and Victoria... hopefully that gives y'all a clue on how sad my life is, haha. If any of you guys have a burning desire to rant about Revenge and/or Once, my inbox is always open!**


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